that is accessed by a human controller 115 to monitor and control operation of the fleet of autonomous material handling units 190 at the mine site 160. Whilst the autonomous material handling units 190 are configured to operate autonomously, the control station 120 provides the human controller 115 to intervene with manual override of one or more controls associated with one or more of the autonomous material handling units 190 or to change settings in a control program that sends commands to control operation of the autonomous material handling units 190. Whilst the example of FIG. 1 shows a single control station 120, other embodiments may include control stations to allow contemporaneous access by multiple human controllers. In a large installation, different controllers utilise a set of control stations to monitor an allocated set of autonomous material handling units across one or more mine sites.

The control station 120 is coupled to the communications network 150. The communications network 150 may be implemented utilising one or more wired communications links, wireless communications links, or any combination thereof. In particular, the communications network 150 may include a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a telecommunications network, or any combination thereof. A telecommunications network may include, but is not limited to, a telephony network, such as a Public Switch Telephony Network (PSTN) or a cellular mobile telephony network, the Internet, or any combination thereof.

Each of the autonomous material handling units in the fleet 190 is equipped with a wireless transceiver for coupling the respective autonomous material handling unit with the communications network 150. Each autonomous material handling unit in the fleet 190 may be coupled directly to the communications network 150 or via a network of one or more transmission towers 170 located at the mine site. In the example of FIG. 1, the fleet of autonomous material handling units 190 includes a combination of drill rigs, loaders (bulldozers), and haulage trucks. Other material handling units may equally be practised.

During operation, the control station 120 and autonomous material handling units 190 communicate with each other via the communications network 150. Each autonomous material handling unit is equipped with a geolocation device, such as a Global Positioning System (GPS) locator, so that the co-ordinates of each unit are known at any moment. The material handling units 190 are able to send information back to the control station 120 at the remote control centre 110, such as information about the location, speed and orientation of the respective material handling unit, as well as operating parameters, such as temperature, fluid levels, and the like.

Each autonomous material handling unit in the fleet 190 includes an onboard controller that is configured to control operation of that material handling unit. Such onboard controllers are implemented using a computing device and operations may include, for example, but are not limited to, the ability to turn the unit on and off, the ability to operate the unit in accordance with a received map or program, such as to steer or navigate along a programmed path.

In some embodiments, one or more of the autonomous material handling units is equipped with proximity sensors that detect the presence of an object within a predefined distance or range of the perimeter of that unit. In such embodiments, the onboard controller is optionally programmed to react to detection of an object within the predefined distance by stopping the unit, taking evasive action, and/or sending an alert to the control station 120 so that the controller 115 can take corrective action.

In some embodiments, the fleet of autonomous material handling units 190 includes a plurality of small capacity haulage trucks having load capacity in the range of 10 tonnes to 80 tonnes, with some embodiments utilising small capacity haulage trucks having a maximum payload capacity in the range of 40 to 60 tonnes. Such small capacity haulage trucks are significantly smaller than massive haulage trucks typically utilised at surface mines. For example, the Komatsu 980E-4 haulage trucks have a 369 tonne payload capacity and the Caterpillar 797 haulage trucks have a 364 tonne payload capacity.

Using a fleet of smaller haulage trucks requires a greater number of haulage trucks than used in a conventional mine site operated using massive haulage trucks. Consequently, the greater number of haulage trucks in motion can cause traffic congestion and conflicts within the mine site. However, smaller haulage trucks with load capacity in the range of 10 tonnes to 80 tonnes are significantly faster and more agile than massive haulage trucks, resulting in potentially higher closing speeds between haulage trucks operating in the same area of the mine site 160.

In order to control the operation of the fleet of autonomous material handling units, some embodiments of the control station 120 are equipped with network management controls to control the flow and operation of the material handling units within the mine site 160. Such network management controls may be implemented using software executing on a processor to monitor and control the flow of traffic of the material handling units within the mine site 160.

Depending on the implementation, the network management controls are programmed with operating parameters associated with each of the material handling units, including but not limited to maximum speed, braking distance for each speed, maximum payloads, and the like. The network management controls utilise the operating parameters and current positions of the material handling units to determine traffic flows of the material handling units and the effect collision avoidance. For example, network management controls can be utilised to control the speed of two autonomous material handling units that are both approaching the same point on the mine site 160, such that both units pass the point safely while minimising braking and acceleration that increases wear and tear on the vehicles and increases fuel usage.

As described above, current mining operations utilise massive mining-specific equipment to excavate, load, and move material. Such massive equipment is difficult and expensive to maintain and operate, requiring long lead times to acquire new equipment and specialist infrastructure to operate. Extremely large mining machines occupy large footprints, necessitating wide roads that have shallow gradients, typically less than 10%, and requiring large areas within which to operate, turn around, and manoeuvre.

The strip ratio of a mine is a measurement of the amount of waste (also commonly referred to as overburden) that must be removed from a mine site to obtain a given ore quantity. The strip ratio is a direct indication of how much waste material is mined per unit of ore. Wide roads with shallow gradients result in a high strip ratio, requiring a large amount of waste material to be extracted for a given quantity of valuable ore. This is because wide roads create a shallow final wall angle, so it is necessary to cut back further to reach/uncover a desired region of material. The steeper the average slope is, the less dirt that needs to be dug out. The average wall angle includes roads and the bench to bench wall slope. Steeper ramps create overall shorter roads to get to a certain depth within a mine site. Thus, the width of the roads, the size of the benches, and the gradient of the ramps all impact the strip ratio for a given mine site or portion of a mine site. Narrower roads with steeper ramps produce a lower strip ratio. Further, using a 5 m bench design allows for better moulding of the mine along the ore body than using 10 m benches.

Extremely large mining machines are generally custom ordered in that such machines are generally built to order. Further, such extremely large mining machines are difficult to manufacture, involving significant lead times and capital expense. Consequently, it is difficult to adjust the size of fleets of mining equipment in response to changes in mining conditions, as ordering and commissioning new machinery takes a long time and requires advance budget planning. Consideration must also be given to the time and costs to recruit and train personnel to operate and maintain any increases in such extremely large machines. Given the capital cost associated with such extremely large machines, it is important that those machines are in operation as much as possible.

The use of smaller haulage trucks has many impacts on the mining environment. Smaller trucks and machines are cheaper to purchase, operate, and maintain. Spare parts are more readily available, both in terms of quantity and the ability to be transported. Servicing or repairing a single small truck has less impact on a large fleet of small trucks than repairing a single large truck has on a small fleet of large trucks. Servicing of smaller trucks is often able to be performed by auto mechanics with a standard level of skill, rather than the specialist skills required to maintain massive equipment. Purchase costs of smaller vehicles are considerably less than the large capital expenditure associated with massive mining vehicles. Consequently, fleet sizes of smaller vehicles can be changed relatively quickly, enabling mining operations to adapt to changing demands, such as increased or decreased output.

Typical bench sizes used in mine sites operating typical, massive machines are generally at least 50 m long, with benches often in the range of many hundreds of metres long with a width of at least 70 m. Smaller trucks can use narrower roads and negotiate steeper gradients. A direct consequence of this is that smaller benches can be used, with heights in the range of 5 m-25 m, preferably 5 m, and widths in the order of 20 m-60 m, such as around 50 m, to enable the smaller trucks and associated machinery to operate and manoeuvre safely. In some embodiments, even smaller bench heights in the range 2.5-5 m are envisioned. Bench widths of 50 m provide sufficient space to operate smaller machinery. Blast models can be denser, yielding tighter fragmentation. Consequently, using smaller trucks can improve the strip ratio, with less overburden mined to obtain a quantum of ore. When using massive machinery, a lot of valuable ore is typically left in the mine site, such as in the mine floor. Smaller machinery, with tighter fragmentation from different blast models, can access ore that would otherwise be inaccessible to larger machinery.

Operating a mine site with a fleet of smaller haulage trucks enables the mine site to be configured with narrower, steeper roads. Such a configuration results in a mine site having a greater yield relative to a mine site operated with massive equipment and the associated wide roads with shallow gradients.

In some embodiments, a mine site with a fleet of smaller haulage trucks operates with a smaller mining unit. That is, blasts are designed to produce smaller fragments of blast material. Smaller fragments of blast material are more readily examined to determine the composition of that blast material. In alternative embodiments, a mine site operating with a fleet of smaller haulage trucks utilises a set of mobile crushers to crush larger blast material into a size suitable for loading into the smaller capacity haulage trucks. Crushing material at the blast site into smaller fragments again provides greater insight into the composition of the blasted material. In these embodiments, information about the mine and its contents are more granular (i.e., providing a higher resolution of the content of the mine) at an earlier time in the mining process, which enables a mine operator to make more informed decisions about the composition of that mine and the mine operator is able to mine more selectively.

Information about the mine and its contents may be obtained by using one or more sensors to inspect material at one or more points in the mining process, such as at a crusher. Such sensors may include, for example, but are not limited to, LiDAR-Inertial 3D Plane SLAM (LIPS) system, x-ray, spectral cameras, photographic and video cameras, and any combination thereof. The sensors may be supplemented with processors performing analysis of the scanned results to inform decision making relation to operation of the mine, such as where to move a load, when to stop loading a truck, or which truck to load with which quality of blasted material. The processing may include, for example, image processing and artificial intelligence (AI) processing, and may be performed on a processor located on, or in communication with, any piece of mining machinery, such as a crusher. In some embodiments, processing is performed on a processor co-located with a crusher. In some embodiments, processing is performed on a remote computing device in communication with a crusher or other mining site equipment.

Larger blasts require excavators to load massive haulage trucks. Such excavators are relatively static and utilise large swing arms to collect and move material. In contrast, loaders can be used to collect and move the material from smaller blasts with tighter fragmentation. Such loaders are manoeuvrable and are well suited to loading smaller haulage trucks.

Using narrow roads also makes it more cost effective to seal some or all of the access roads approaching and within a mine site, which obviates the need to wet and grade roads, as is presently required for the unsealed roads. Sealed roads are able to be used at all times, including during wet conditions, and require less regular maintenance. In contrast, unsealed roads become slippery when exposed to rainfall, particularly the ramps within a mine site. Consequently, unsealed roads may be taken out of use when slippery, halting mining.

In some embodiments, a mine site is provided that includes a network of roads, wherein a proportion of the roads have a maximum width in the range of 3 metres to 12 metres. Particular embodiments have a proportion of roads with a maximum width in the range of 3 metres to 12 metres. Some embodiments are not only narrower, but also built to carry vehicles having a maximum carrying capacity of 80 tonnes or less. Narrower roads built for significantly lighter trucks are quicker and cheaper to build than wide roads built for ultra-class vehicles. Further, narrower roads used in conjunction with relatively small autonomous material handling units, such as haulage vehicles having a maximum carrying capacity of 80 tonnes or less, enable better recovery of ore from a mine site or part of a mine site, resulting in a better strip ratio for that area.

Smaller trucks are faster than massive, ultra-class mining equipment. Whilst smaller trucks cannot carry loads as large as massive haulage trucks, the smaller trucks can be loaded and unloaded more quickly and can move from one point to another more quickly than massive haulage trucks.

FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of a portion of a mine site 200 having a bench 215 on which a set of drill rigs 210 is operating. The drill rigs 210 drill blast holes, which are subsequently filled with explosives to blast the bench 215 into blast material of a predetermined size. A set of loaders 220 loads the blasted material from the bench 215 into a set of autonomous small haulage vehicles 230. Depending on the implementation, the drill rigs 210 and/or the loaders 220 may be human operated or autonomous or a combination thereof. Once the small haulage vehicles have been loaded with blasted material, the small vehicles travel up a haul road 250 to deliver the blasted material for further processing or to a waste dump.

In the example of FIG. 2, small haulage vehicles 232 and 234 are loaded with blasted material and are travelling on the haul road 250. As the small haulage vehicles 230, 232, 234 have payload capacities in the range of 1 tonne to 30 tonne, those vehicles 203, 232, 234 are able to negotiate roads with steep gradients in excess of 10%, particularly in the range of 10% to 16%. Roads with steeper gradients require less excavation and provide shorter travel distances.

As the small haulage vehicles 230, 232, 234 are significantly smaller than massive haulage trucks and inflict significantly less wear on the road surface, it is economical to seal a proportion of roads in the mine site 200 to be used by the fleet of small haulage trucks. Sealing roads allows the small haulage vehicles 230, 232, 234 to travel at higher speeds, such as 80 km/h to 100 km/h or more, reducing the time taken to move blasted material from the bench 215 to subsequent processing or waste sites. In contrast, ultra-class haul trucks have maximum speeds in the order of 60 km/h, but more typically travel in the range of 40 km/h. Further, small haulage vehicles accelerate faster and more efficiently than ultra-class trucks and also brake faster and more efficiently than ultra-class trucks. Accordingly, the mine site 200 is optionally configured with portions of haul roads 250 having gradients in excess of 10%, and having portions of haul roads 250 sealed.

The flexibility associated with smaller trucks provides opportunities not presently available through the use of massive haulage trucks. Smaller trucks can utilise public roads which improves accessibility. Smaller trucks can utilise conventional infrastructure and may not need customised infrastructure (e.g. maintenance bays and re-fuelling facilities). Smaller trucks travelling on sealed roads are able to travel at significantly faster speeds than large haulage trucks. As a consequence, mine infrastructure, such as crushers or rail haulage, may be located further from the mine floor. Further, small autonomous vehicles can use more of the road surface, as large mining vehicles place huge stress on road edges.

Each load of a massive haulage truck represents a significant load, both in terms of the volume of the carrying capacity of the haulage truck and the time taken to load and transport that load. Consequently, such haulage trucks are loaded to maximum capacity for each run with whatever material has been blasted and sorting and processing of the blasted material occurs downstream.

Smaller trucks have a much smaller carrying capacity and are more

manoeuvrable. Consequently, a fleet of small trucks can be utilised to transport different types of blasted material, based on size, composition, or a combination thereof. As smaller capacity haulage vehicles have significantly less payload capacity than massive mining vehicles, there is less or mixing of mining materials having different grades or properties in each load of a small capacity haulage vehicle. That is, each load in a small capacity haulage truck is more homogenous than a load from a large capacity haulage truck. Smaller trucks can be designated different roles, such that a first set of trucks is loaded with blasted material having a higher ore content and a second set of trucks is loaded with blasted material having a higher waste content.

Sorting blast material at the blast site provides improved efficiencies. Loading of a truck can stop when a change in composition of the material to be loaded is detected, so that waste material can be re-directed to another truck. This avoids dilution of the current payload of the truck. Further, smaller trucks have smaller carrying capacities, so there is less penalty to send trucks without fully loading the truck each time.

In the example of FIG. 2, the loaders 220 optionally load the set of small haulage vehicles 230 based on the type of blasted material that is being moved. Thus, the loaders 220 can sort blasted material into wasted material and ore and then load the fleet of vehicles 230 with one of the sorted material types.

In some embodiments, a mine site operated with autonomous, small haulage trucks is also equipped with mobile crushers. The mobile crushers are able to be positioned at a blast site after blasting has occurred to crush the blasted material into a size that is more suitable for the smaller haulage trucks.

Crushing the blasted material at the blast site enables the composition of the blast material to be determined at an earlier point of the processing, such that material can be sorted into different trucks or trucks can be sent to different processing sites, based on the composition of the blast material that is being hauled. Further, knowing the composition of the blast material at an earlier time enables subsequent blasting operations to be more efficient. In some circumstances, the blast pattern or explosive is changed based on the most recent blast. In other circumstances, a different area of the mine site is selected for a subsequent blast based on poor composition of a most recent blast.

In a mine site that utilises a fleet of autonomous, small haulage vehicles, there may be a consequential increased need to manage the flow of traffic around a mine site. Each autonomous vehicle is associated with a Global Positioning System (GPS) device that transmits a present location of the respective vehicle, via satellite, to a central operations centre. Some embodiments utilise control software at the operations centre to control movement of vehicles relative to one another, in accordance with predefined minimum passing distances. Such control software also defines minimum passing distances between a vehicle and other features, such as obstacles, road edges, kerbs, guttering, loaders, markers, and the like.

Using a fleet of smaller, autonomous vehicles will result in an increase in the number of traffic movements relative to a mine site operating traditional, massive equipment. Some embodiments provide a mine site with increased number of slip roads and/or traffic controls in order to manage the movement of vehicles within the site. Such traffic controls may include visual controls, including traffic lights, as well as network controls from a control centre that manage the speeds and directions of autonomous vehicles on the mine site. In some embodiments, vehicle controls, either on the vehicles or effected through controls sent from a control centre, govern the speeds of autonomous vehicles as those vehicles approach intersections, objects, or other vehicles.

Some embodiments utilise a network of wireless transmission towers to communicate with the autonomous vehicles using radiofrequency (RF) transmissions. Wireless transmitters in the autonomous vehicles communicate with a control centre, via the network of transmission towers.

In some embodiments, some or all of the autonomous vehicles are equipped with proximity detectors that detect the presence of objects within a predefined distance of a perimeter of the vehicle. In such vehicles, vehicle control software executing on a processor installed in such vehicles is programmed to activate the brakes of the vehicle or to turn the wheels of the vehicle in order to prevent a collision with a detected object. In some embodiments, the detection of an object within a predefined distance, or range, triggers an alert, such that the vehicle control software transmits a collision alert message to the control centre. On receipt of such a collision alert message, the control centre generates a visual and/or audible alert to attract the attention of an operator in charge of activities in the relevant area of the mine site at which the collision alert message was generated.

Smaller trucks can utilise existing roads constructed for existing mining vehicles. In addition, smaller trucks are capable of travelling at higher speeds and are more agile. Consequently, narrower roads having bends of tighter radii and with steeper gradients may be used. Further, using smaller vehicles enables the use of conventional vehicle service bays, in contrast to the customised mining vehicle service bays required by massive machines.

The utilisation of smaller vehicles enables satellite deposits of ore to be mined in an economical manner.

Some embodiments provide a mine site that utilises a fleet or one or more trucks, each truck having a payload in the range of 10 tonnes to 80 tonnes, and preferably in the range of 40 tonnes to 60 tonnes to achieve a total daily material throughput of approximately 50,000 tonnes to 500,000 tonnes.

In some embodiments, each haulage truck has a maximum payload capacity corresponding to a predefined percentage of a predefined average daily material throughput over a month. In some embodiments, the predefined percentage is in the range of 0.01% to 0.05%, and preferably in the range of 0.015% to 0.035%.

According to the present disclosure, a method for moving material in a mine site utilises a plurality of autonomous material handling units. The material handling units may include one or more loaders, crushers, haulage trucks, trains, and any combination thereof. Each autonomous material handling unit includes a wireless transceiver for communication with a control centre. In some implementations, the autonomous material handling units communicate wirelessly among each other. In some implementations, the control centre sends control signals to the autonomous material handling units to control activities of the autonomous material handling units. Such activities can include, for example, but are not limited, to loading material, moving, stopping, and unloading material.

Some embodiments provide a mine site having a road network, wherein a portion of roads within the road network have a gradient in the range of 10% to 20%, and preferably in the range of 10% to 14%.

Some embodiments provide a mine site having a network of roads, wherein 10% to 60% of those roads are sealed roads.

Further embodiments relate to one or more methods of designing a bench in a surface mine, based on an identified area of interest within the mine. In some embodiments, the area of interest is identified through one or more of: a geological model of the mine; MWD data from existing operations within the mine; exploratory drillings within the mine; and scanning of the mine.

Once the area of interest has been identified, the methods design a bench to retrieve material from that area, wherein the design may include one or more of size and location of the bench, and the size and location of at least one ramp to access the bench. The size of the bench may include, for example, one or more of the height, width, and length of the bench. The size and location of each ramp may include, for example, one or more of the length, gradient, and width of the respective ramp, as well as the start and end positions of the ramp. Such methods enable the design of benches within a mine to target specific ore deposits, such as particularly high grade ore deposits.

Design of the bench may also include dimensions of the blocks to be produced by blasting the bench. Such block sizes may have a volume of less than 1000 m³(e.g., 10 m×10 m×10 m). For example, the dimensions of suitable block sizes may be 5 m×5 m×5 m or 2.5 m×2.5 m×2.5 m. Further, design of the bench may also include blast design parameters. Blast design parameters may include, for example, the number of blast holes, the location of the blast holes, the diameter of the blast holes, the depth of the blast holes, the type of explosive to be used, and the volume of explosive to be used in each of the blast holes.

The methods of designing such benches may be utilised in methods of improving a mining stockpile, wherein the methods of improving a mining stockpile identify an area of interest, design a bench for retrieving material from that area of interest, blast the bench, and then retrieve the blasted material. In such methods of improving a mining stockpile, multiple areas of interest within a mine may be identified, with benches designed for the respective areas of interest. This is a form of more targeted mining, in which smaller benches are designed for specific areas of interest to extract material from particular ore sites, in contrast to traditional mining in which a whole mine site is blasted to extract material, which yields comparatively poor yield ratios. Smaller block sizes allow for greater selectively and less dilution, as it would not be as uneconomical to load a smaller truck with predominantly one grade, even if only partially filled. In contrast, ultra-class trucks need to be fully filled to be economical.

In some implementations, the bench is small relative to bench sizes utilised for ultra-class vehicles, with widths of the bench being in the range of 20 m to 60 m (and preferably in the range of 50 m), and the blasted material is removed using vehicles having maximum carrying capacities in the range of 80 tonnes or less. Smaller bench widths enable the use of an overall steeper mine angle, which can enable less overburden and deeper mines.

In some embodiments, autonomous vehicles are utilised to retrieve the blasted materials. Such autonomous vehicles may include, for example, haulage trucks, mobile crushers, and loaders. In some implementations, the haulage trucks are relatively small, having maximum carrying capacities in the order of 80 tonnes or less. As described above, such vehicles are able to operate with narrower roads having steeper gradients than ultra-class haulage trucks. Depending on the implementation, the autonomous vehicles are controlled by one or more operators in conjunction with a control system in communication with the autonomous vehicles.

In some embodiments, identification of an area of interest is based on advanced ore grade information. Initial ore grade information may be obtained through exploration data. Such exploration data is obtained through exploratory drilling, geological modelling, and the like. The initial ore grade information is updated to provide pre-blasting ore grade information based on one or more of: OBK through MWD data obtained from the mining site or a nearby site, blast cone/drill chip sampling, hyperspectral scanning, and the like.

The blasted material is optionally sorted into classification grades. Sorted material can then be loaded into different haulage trucks. For example, if the blasted material is simply sorted into high grade and low grade ore, then high grade ore is loaded into a first truck and low grade ore is loaded into a second truck. This allows the high grade ore and low grade ore to be directed to different stockpiles for different processing. Sorting of the blasted material may be based, for example, on hyperspectral imaging, magnetic induction, or loading device (e.g., excavator, shovel) sensors for analysing blasted material. Loading device sensors may utilise, for example, one or more of a Prompt Gamma Neutron Activation Analysis (PGNAA) sensor; a microwave sensor; an x ray sensor; and a magnetic induction sensor.

The mining operation control stations and onboard vehicle controllers of the present disclosure may be practised using one or more computing devices, such as a general purpose computer, programmable logic controller, embedded computer, or computer server programmed and adapted to function in an improved manner.